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Content: Ms Riley's lawyers aren't contesting the meager settlement

She received $1.4million up front as an initial payoff, according to court documents.

Mr Musk, a South African who attended the University of Pennsylvania, made his fortune by founding a series of highly-successful ventures -- beginning with Zip2, which produced online content publishing software that was purchased in 1999 for nearly $340million.

He founded Space X later that year -- a outer space exploration company. In 2009, the company launched the first privately-owned liquid-fueled rocket ever to enter space. Space X now has a contract to deliver cargo to the International Space Station that is worth between $1.6billion and $3.1billion.

Mr Musk also founded Tesla Motors, an electric car company that had a $226million initial public offering in 2010.

For all his wealth, Ms Riley seems content with the $4.2million figure. Her lawyers haven't contested the offer from Mr Musk, age 41 -- which amounts to little more than pocket change for a man who spends a reported $200,000 a month on personal expenses.

In 2010, Mr Musk finalized the divorce with his first wife, Canadian fantasy novelist Justine Musk, who is the mother of his two sons.

He had been with Ms Riley for four years before they separated in July 2011.